Happy to be proven wrong about Gakpo (atleast for this match)
Hopefully we see more of the same going on forward.
Watched the replay and while it’s Ipswich, our midfielders did seem more well equipped.
Araujo at RB makes sense considering how lightweight frimpong is.
Considering that our three previous rightbacks had two very dodgy defense play in Trent and Frimpong. Yeah it’s been a long time.
We might just be forced to overload on our CB and play like what arsenal does (play a inverted right back) going on forward if we want to make something of those season.
Not ideal but we can’t have both the right back’s and left backs be more conventional wingbacks. Especially since our midfield is well… Dodgy
If Araujo performs like this for 20-25 matches in a PL season , I’ll be looking at him being here full time.
I wonder if we go 3 at the back at some point. It not my favoured formation but maybe our all the centre backs at our disposal (soon), we may try it. Arauja/Jo on the right, and a combination of Jaquet/VVD/Leoni for the centre and left. Would allow Bradley/Kerkez/Frimpong/Dom to cover the wing back positions.
I didn’t know Gakpo had that in his locker!
I think the starting formation matters little. It’s all about transition play at the moment anyway.
From what I’ve seen Iraola and his Bournemouth side , he prefers to have one wingback attacking while the other one defends and forms a back 3 of sorts.
So we are at a back 3 during that particular transition anyway. It’s just that our RB in frimpong is not equipped physically to deal with that. Keeping Araujo in RB means that our attack from the wingbacks is restricted to the left side
100% agree, Araujo was pretty solid , and tbf the whole defence had a brilliant game, i know its was only against Ipswich, but they should be taking positives from that last night.
I don’t mind Araujo in RB but that’s the tradeoff that has to be made there.
I´m backed him and said we need to set the team up better for him but you are right.
Even when he does get the ball, he needs to do better. He´s floating around doing safe passes or dithering on it. He needs to have that cutting edge and swagger to his game, turning, zipping it around, beating players and making clever passes. He was certainly doing it much more last season for a period, so something is very wrong.
Hopefully, like with Isak who was poor in previous games, it clicks for Wirtz in the next games.
Yes, in some phases of play our formation was with 3 CBs with Munoz and Kerkez taking wingback positions.
It was the same against Forest with Munoz and Frimpong talking wingback positions, while Kerkez was tucking in as 3rd CB. I think the reason for Munoz and Gakpo switching flanks in that game was not because Gakpo was auditioning for right wing, but purely tactical - we didn’t want Frimpong tucked in as 3rd CB and also we wanted our winger that takes a wingback position (Munoz) to be with their less attacking wingback - Aina. That also dictated Maca and Szoboszlai switching sides, so the more defensive Maca can help more with the more attacking Neco Williams.
Yes they really didn´t create very much. Good stuff.
No he wasn’t unlucky to stay on the pitch he was unlucky to get a yellow, bollox decision from the ref.
He created a goal and scored one last week, not his fault other players ventured offside to cancel them!
Wirtz did little wrong. He did his best pressing for every ball. He wasn’t the weak link whatsoever.
Very promising display from us especially first half when we looked so dangerous. Being brave enough to execute the early, aggressive pass. Gakpo brilliant, possessed, relentless. Isak clinical, Munoz thrilling. Obviously, second half we switched off a bit and I’m sure Iraola will have been irritated by that because as we all know, 2-0 is the most dangerous scoreline in football and we should have kept pressing. It only takes a couple of players to stop running and anticipating and the whole thing comes apart and we end up gifting possession away. This will be fixed.
Shoutout to Araujo for giving us the beast in defence we have been missing. Virg and JJ very good, Macca busy. I know Wirtz has got a little stick but watch the game again and he’s great first half but in the second gets robbed a few times because there’s nobody around him making themselves available. Not his fault. Barcola showed in just a couple of moves what he;s going to bring. His speed is stunning and you can see how smart he is. Can’t wait for more.
If there were any negatives it was, for me anyway, Dom wandering around aimlessly and not in tune with the rest of the team. He did have two cracking shots on target though and generally we had our shooting boots on for a change.
Sadly, Kerkez was shocking again. Their RW didn’t even get challenged never mind tackled and had free crosses all night. Kostas has to be a better option.
I thought he was awful. I am a big fan of his so not on his back or writing him off or anything.
Great turn and pass for the offside assist but apart from that he just had no impact. He looked lethargic and we didn´t see the clever passes or quick feet or cutting edge we expect.
He is capable of so so much more and we just haven´t seen it yet this season. I´m not one of these who thinks he canñt handle the league. He handled the league for a good few months in the middle of the last season and started to look like the player we bought.
Iraola will have to figure out a way to get him firing. Thankfully Gakpo is on fire and Isak is hopefully hitting form so the instant necessity is off for now. But I am a little concerned by how he looks right now.
Only Ipswich? It’s common knowledge that newly promoted teams discovering the PL in front of their fans can be very dangerous at the start of a season. And by the way, I thought that they did really well yesterday night: very organised, applying high pressure at all times, never giving up and setting up good attacking moves. The only thing letting them down was being more clinical in the final third. But they gave our lads a match from start to finish, and deserve high praise for that.
Fortunately, our players were up to the challenge, also during the second half, when the legs started to become heavy, and our game less fluent. They accepted the fight 100% , and in that sense, Araujo set a good example. But they were all willing to run and fight for these three points.
Of course, the two early goals helped. Gakpo’s passes, so accurate, like laser rays. And Isak was pure dynamite on these two chances. Incredibly impressive. For the first time, I’m impressed by him, his potential seems monstrous.
By the way, much has been said about the necessity to link Wirtz and Isak, but what about the Gakpo-Isak link? Seems to grow, as there were other great link-ups between the two.
For me, who doesn’t expect much from this transitional season, these are valuable three points on a ground which might prove to be difficult for many visitors. Very, very happy to see a team growing together. 
Darren England another corrupt POS.
I think it’ll be a horses for courses type of thing at right back. In the game scenario yesterday, getting the first goal away from home, Araujo becomes a great decision. If Ipswich get the first goal and we struggle to break them down, he’s probably subbed on 60 and Szoboszlai plays there.
The full back situation is one of the up in the air positions for me this season. Kerkez is on paper a clear first choice, but he’s not exactly playing like one. I’d actually like to see Bradley there when he comes back. It’s not ideal in terms of overlaps and cut-backs, it takes some attacking rhythm away, but that’s not necessarily needed anyway.